” Please note, applications for Western Australian State nomination for business and investor provisional visas are closed until further notice.

Western Australia has temporarily closed applications for State nomination for the Business Innovation and Investment provisional visas pending the release of additional places by the Department of Home Affairs. We value your interest in our program and encourage you to check this website regularly for updates. We hope to reopen the program shortly.”

Victorian government announcement – January 7th, 2019

“Victoria has temporarily closed applications for nomination of certain business and investor visas.

Victoria is currently experiencing a high volume of applications for nomination for select business and investor visas. To help manage this demand, and meet our service commitments to you, we are temporarily not accepting new applications for the following visa sub-classes:

We will continue to assess all nomination applications received prior to 5 January 2019, however please be advised delays may occur in providing outcomes for these applications.

Your interest in the Business Innovation & Investment Program is highly valued and we hope to reopen the program shortly. We cannot provide a specific date or timeframe at this point, however encourage you to visit the Live in Melbourne website regularly for program updates.”

If you have any questions regarding Victorian business migration, either now or in the future, please Contact Us.

Business & Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) temporarily suspends new invitations for business migration – will open again at a date to be advised https://t.co/nLPMWTsS2n— Australian visas (@CargilMigration) January 2, 2019

If you want to discuss how this will effect you, or plan for an application once the program opens again please Contact Us

I recently had an opportunity to write an article for @TeamPlayer360, a monthly newspaper covering Recruitment, Jobs, HR and Careers distributed across Edinburgh and London. The article has recently been published and is reproduced below.

The article provides an overview of Australian visa options for skilled professionals, businesses and investors.

Australian immigration

Ticket to the World: Australian visa options for individuals & businesses

In a word of increasing skilled shortages, your qualifications and skills can be a ticket to see the world. This is especially so when it comes to working or migrating to Australia.

Whilst modern Australia was built on a combination of both skilled workers and unskilled labour – the majority of which were people on a one way ticket from the UK, Ireland and Europe – this is not the case anymore.

The focus is now well and truly on skilled individuals. Individuals who are qualified and have experience in high demand occupations such as engineering, healthcare, information technology, trades, accounting and professional services. It is no coincidence that these occupations remain in high demand around the world and it is these professions that are driving an increasingly global mobile workforce.

However if you fall outside these high demand occupations this does not necessarily rule you out completely as Australia has a myriad of visa options. If you have some qualifications and professional experience it may be just about assessing yourself against the options, and then putting into place the pieces of jigsaw to get the result you are after.

For the lucky few the golden ticket is usually being eligible for a skilled independent visas. Skilled independent visas are, in general, for people under 50 years old and work in one of the occupations above. These visas allow an individual and their family to arrive as permanent residents – the stepping stone to Australia citizen – and to access great majority of public services that Australians can such as healthcare and schools. And there is not even an requirement that you need to work in the skill that got you there.

For those that fall outside the skilled independent options, the past decade has seen an increasing focus on the States and Territories of Australia having a greater say on would be migrants. They are given some degree of autonomy to attract people with skills that aren’t necessarily in shortage nationally but are specifically in their state or regional area within. So while there may be little opportunity for people in occupations in your desired city, there may be elsewhere.

Close relations in Australia – siblings, Parents, Uncles/Aunty’s, Parents – can also in some circumstances have a positive effect on a visa application. This family support can often be the difference between moving there or not.

When none of the above fits your circumstances there may be opportunities for you through employer sponsored visas. When a recruiter picks up the phone to speak to you about roles in Australia, it is usually on one of these visas that they will you be employed. Employer Sponsored visas allows for skilled individuals to obtain work visas as long as you remain with that employer. So while it does come at the cost of some flexibility, compared to the independent visas it also often comes with the advantage of an income upon arrival. There are also other benefits that may be added – primarily depending on human resources policy – such as housing, relocation, annual return flights home and other incentives. Whilst the heady days of benefits that were handed out pre GFC no longer exist anything offered can be the difference between going or staying. At this stage understanding the tax ramifications of accepting an offer, both home and abroad is imperative. Although as this is an expensive business there may be clawback arrangements in place to repay some costs should you leave employment within a specified period of time.

Whilst employer sponsored visa are usually a temporary residency option it often a pathway to permanent residency. Whilst accurate figures are hard to find it is often suggested that 80% progress to permanent residency. This shows the appeal of a strong economy and an enviable lifestyle. It is also a reflection of the trend of successive governments supporting employer sponsored migration.

For anyone who falls short of meeting any of the above visa there may be some alternate options. The working holiday program allows most EU citizens under 31 to experience 12-24 months working in Australia. Whilst this can be the great backpacking adventure of a life, it can also provide opportunities to experience living and undertaking work in Australia and can then lead onto other visas such as employer sponsored visas or even partner visas. It remains the ultimate try before you buy option.

Finally, where all else fails, there are significant advantages offered to those who may want to stay permanently in Australia if they undertake study in a recognised skill shortage area. This is best reflected by the fact that Australia has the 4th largest market in the world for foreign students in tertiary education.

However it is not all about skilled individuals and employees. For successful investors or business owners that desire to relocate permanently to Australia, there are pathways via the business skills program. This program allows innovative and entrepreneurial people to either set up or buy a business or make investments in approved funds or businesses.

Finally for those business owners looking to expand their business or to service new contracts in Australia there are pathways for you to facilitate this and to offer your employees an opportunity to change their life. The criteria for this is not always straight forward and involves compliance with a wide range of law – covering corporate, tax and employment law to name a few – however they allow a business to establish themselves from the beginning with the right foundations for long term success. There have also been concessions made for contract and project workers to enter into the country for work. A reflection of the growth and significance of the resources boom that has helped Australia to not have a recession in 23 years. The only developed country in the world to claim this.

So whether it is permanently or temporarily those people with the the right skills or desire can usually find a pathway for themselves. It may be easy for some compared to others but with planning and patience and the right advice it is achievable.

http://www.cargilmigration.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/logo1.png00Mark Welchhttp://www.cargilmigration.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/logo1.pngMark Welch2015-06-02 21:51:132016-03-29 11:18:51Ticket to the World - Australian visa options

A New Start – how to approach immigration

When immigrating to a new country you need to understand your visa options and what they mean for you in the short and long term.

Any new start in life generally means that, unless you are the exception, you will have some doubt and feel a little bit nervous about what lies ahead. Although one way of removing some of that doubt is through some research and planning.

When considering immigration to Australia this is particularly true. I have often seen people and businesses focus on the result in getting a visa. But in the short term they take some risks and rush through things, and decide on options that may not be the best path for themselves or their family or the business. In a lot of cases all they do is increase the length of time and cost it takes to get the visa that they need and expose themselves to great risk.

In the long term there is a high chance that circumstances will change and what drove a person to a new country will not remain the same. Often those who never thought they would leave Australia do, and those that were looking at a short term adventure end up wanting to stay. Or even more problematic they leave and then want to come back.

During the GFC there were plenty of stories of people having to leave Australia, after living there for a decade, because they held visas conditional on being sponsored by an employer but were made redundant. They made the mistake of taking short term tax and cash incentives instead of securing their families future by applying for Australian permanent residency. I have also seen business owners establish but then sell businesses before they have the right to remain permanently approved. I have seen companies enforce human resources policies based on their home country laws that were completely at odds with Australian policy and law.

However, if all these people and businesses had asked the right questions or understood their situation by getting the right advice, they could have made an educated decision and managed their own risks. It would have come at a cost but not the cost they were ultimately exposed too.

So taking the time to understand all your visa options, the conditions attached to them and what they mean is imperative. You should understand in significant detail what a visa entitles you and your family to do, what public services you can access, what is the pathway to permanent residency or citizenship, whether you have to remain in the place you settle or with the employer you are sponsored by, what rights you have to buying property, what you as an employer need to consider outside of just getting an employee a visa and possibly most importantly who can help you answer those questions. Granted the list of questions can be endless but they can be broken down into the following;

Why am I moving?

Can I get there?

How do I get there?

What can I do when I get there?

If I need to leave what does this mean?

Who can help me?

So whatever your circumstances are, if you are looking at immigration to Australia and a new start, then asking yourself these questions will put you on the right track to a successful and exciting new chapter for you or your businesses life.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on relevant matters. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute immigration or legal advice. You are advised to seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content contained in this website